Billboard Music Award\u2019s 2017 Top Christian Artist of the Year, Lauren Diagle, wants to break away from her label as a Christian artist.<\/p>\n
While talking with 104.3 FM, the host Dave Styles asked Daigle if she considered herself a Christian artist, even though her music is becoming more and more mainstream.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like those labels get put on you by other people,\u201d Daigle said. \u201cI was reading articles, I read them here and there, and one of them said Christian artist and the other ones said just artist. But I think part of me is just an artist because it encompasses everything. That\u2019s kind of how I see myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
The young artist did not mention Jesus or God throughout the interview, sticking to general phrases like \u201cfaith,\u201d while placing a large emphasis on the importance of love. This further angered some of her Christian fans, especially since it was a secular media company.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot one mention of Jesus Christ. This was your opportunity to give God the glory He deserves, but instead you gave Him no mention at all but made it all about you,\u201d one commenter wrote on the YouTube video.<\/p>\n
\u201cSoooo many opportunities to declare the gospel and connect Jesus to the masses and she shot every single chance down,\u201d another opined.<\/p>\n
Despite the anger she received over not wanting to be boxed into the label of a Christian artist, Diagle understands the power of her music and how it can help many people.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember talking so much about, \u2018Let\u2019s just make sure that we make music that we believe in that\u2019s pure, true sound and something that we love, and it\u2019ll transcend wherever it\u2019s supposed to go. But let\u2019s make sure that it\u2019s pure authentic to who we are,\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Over the past year, Daigle has become increasingly more famous, performing her music on shows usually reserved for secular music, including \u201cGood Morning America,\u201d \u201cDancing With the Stars,\u201d and \u201cThe Tonight Show.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her interviews with these secular media giants has landed her in hot water with her Christian fan base before. In a radio interview with Domenick Nati, he asked her if she felt that homosexuality was a sin. The singer didn’t offer a clear-cut response.<\/p>\n
“I can’t honestly answer on that,” Daigle said. “In a sense, I have too many people that I love that they are homosexual. I don’t know. I actually had a conversation with someone last night about it. I can’t say one way or the other. I’m not God.”<\/p>\n
Due to this, many called her hypocritical and suggesting she wasn’t staying true to her roots. Daigle had been asked the question due to a recent appearance she had made on “Ellen”.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, it was really sad that their outlook would be, \u2018Oh, because Ellen\u2019s gay, she\u2019s bad.\u2019 That\u2019s sad. It\u2019s so sad,\u201d Daigle explained. \u201cWhat people don\u2019t realize is I went to Ellen and she is just a bundle of light. She is so joyful. She was so kind.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daigle added: \u201c[I]can\u2019t choose who I\u2019m supposed to be kind to and who I\u2019m not, because that\u2019s the mission, right? Be who Christ was to everyone as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Christian Post reports that Diagle told them that she would not be leaving the Christian music genre anytime soon. She see’s that her music can transcend to those that typically only listen to secular, mainstream music.<\/p>\n
\u201c[My music] is having crossover appeal, but it doesn’t mean that I’m leaving one for the other or that I’m going to be swept up by one thing or the other. For me, it’s like, ‘Oh, everything just got even more clear.’ Everything just got clearer as to why it is that we go and love people who are outside of the walls of our church, outside of the walls that we’re comfortable with.\u201d<\/p>\n
You can watch her full interview with 104.3 FM below.<\/p>\n